Stoneheart
by Sango
Summary: Everything in your life can change in the blink of an eye, from one look, one touch; Lulu and Wakka come to such a turning point, shortly after the game's end, and there is no going back...One-shot.


Stoneheart   
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_I tried so hard   
In spite of the way you were mocking me   
Acting like I was part of your property   
Remembering all the times you fought with me   
I'm surprised it got so far..._

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A deep rainbow of color arced through my kitchen window, staining the countertop each hue in slow succession as the sun set over the balmy ocean of Besaid. I watched it absently, idly chopping vegetables, my mind elsewhere. 

It was difficult, knowing what to do with the rest of our lives, now that the pilgrimage was over, and the Eternal Calm begun. I don't think any of us had ever really thought about life after Sin; none of us really expected to live through it. 

"Hey, Lulu!" Wakka barged into my dwelling, nearly overturning a potted plant in his clumsy exuberance and bunching up my hearth rug under his large, booted feet. He stripped off the sweaty shoulder guard and dropped it unceremoniously on the floor. 

I frowned at the mess he was making of my tidy little world, and managed a curt, "At least you left the balls outside this time." 

"You should see them, Lu, I wish I had been so good at their age..." Wakka had sworn off blitzball; his heart just wasn't in it anymore. But he took great pride in the team of children he was coaching, and talked about their progress constantly. It was hard to stay cross at him, watching his face as he spoke, the big lout. He was so earnest, so kindhearted... 

So empty-headed. "Why do you always barge in here and expect me to wait on you? And why do _I_ always end up cooking everything?" 

Wakka looked at me levelly. "Lu, do you _really_ want me to cook?" 

Hells, no. Even Tidus had been less culinarily challenged than the redheaded blitzer. I sighed loudly, resigned to my fate. Neither of us really wanted to eat alone. I just hated always cooking for him, like his 'little woman' or something. I opened my mouth to order him to make himself useful and set the table, but he was already moving, grinning at me as he took plates and utensils from the cupboards. 

"Damn!" 

It seemed the height of irony that one who had mastered Flare and Firaga could still burn herself carelessly on the stove. I gripped the injured hand hard above the wrist, staring blankly at my reddening palm. 

The irony was not lost on Wakka, as he poorly hid a smile and said, "Maybe you should wear that fire-eating bangle of yours next time you cook--" 

"Shut up, you ungrateful moron," I bit out through my teeth. It really hurt. 

He immediately looked chagrined. "Lu, I'm sorry. C'mere, let me--" He soaked a bit of cloth in cold water and crossed over to me briskly, taking the injured hand gingerly, before I could react. 

His grip was gentle and soothing, as he pressed wonderful coolness into the burn, drawing out the heat. The look in his eyes-- 

I snatched my hand away roughly. "Leave off, Wakka, I'm not a child." 

He stiffened, hurt. "I know, Lu," he said quietly, turning to leave. He'd finally had enough. "But you don't have to be so cold, ya?" 

_Wakka._ I found myself reaching a hand out involuntarily to catch him, but too late. _Wakka, I'm sorry._

I was much too hard on him. I treated Chappu's death like it was my own personal tragedy...but Wakka loved him, too. He'd adored his younger brother. I didn't know why I pushed him so far away from me, every time he tried to get closer. 

Well...maybe I did. Sometimes you just spend so much time with someone, develop such a closeness...it was like he knew me so well that he could read my thoughts, and I his. It was suffocating, and terrifying; the last time _that_ had happened to me, I'd given in to it, let it grow and flourish, and then nearly died from the gaping, open wound it left, when it was brutally torn away. 

I was so afraid of allowing that to happen again... 

_But is it any better_, a small inner voice asked, _this feeling of a hundred blades tearing you up inside, every time you hurt him so?_

Something broke inside me then, and I was running toward his hut, with a desperate speed that matched any flight we'd taken in our travels. "Wakka!" My voice caught in a sob. "Wakka--" 

"Lu?" I found myself suddenly against his broad chest, caught tight in the embrace of his arms, their strength effortlessly supporting me as my knees gave way and I dissolved into stormy tears. I, the emotionless Guardian, who never cried. I locked my arms around his neck and gave myself up to the burning anguish inside. "Wa-ka...I'm sorry..." 

"Lu, it's okay." His lips brushed my cheek, my hair. "I know..." He swept me up like a child, carrying me into the privacy of his home, letting me cry until I had no tears left. Weak and spent, I lay there curled on his lap as we sat in silence, his strong heartbeat thrumming steadily underneath my tear-stained cheek. The bout of sadness left my head heavy, my limbs lethargic from the gentle pull of impending slumber. I shifted a little, to get more comfortable, against his solid warmth. 

Wakka cleared his throat, awkwardly. "Uh, Lu...do you want me to take you home?" His pulse had sped up slightly; was he nervous? 

I was abruptly aware then, that I teetered precariously on some momentous pinnacle; an unspoken question had been voiced, and the answer would change everything. 

But by then, my decision had already been made. Slowly, my arms crept up around his sides, encircling his tautly muscled back, which trembled slightly under my touch. "No." 

His embrace tightened almost convulsively then, as he exhaled. "You sure?" 

I drew away slightly, to look at him, reaching up with my uninjured hand to cup his cheek. His eyes were wide, his whole expression a study in barely repressed hope. He never was any good at hiding things from me. I drew his face to mine. "I'm sorry, Wakka, that I made you wait so long..." 

He grinned, a flash of white teeth in the dark. "No apologies, Lu," he whispered, just before our lips met, and then there was no more need for words. 

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Sometimes you just want to write something short, sweet, and uncomplicated. 

Disclaimer: I don't own ffx or any of its characters. 

Song quote from "In The End", by Linkin Park. 

~Sango   
sango_chan@hotmail.com 


End file.
